Name: Sweet and Sour Pork
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 500 g pork fillet, cubed; 3 tbsp cornflour; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 onion, cut into wedges; 1 red capsicum, cubed; 1 green capsicum, cubed; 225 g canned pineapple chunks, drained (reserve juice); 3 tbsp tomato sauce; 2 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp brown sugar

Sweet and Sour Pork is a dinner staple we keep on Scoops & Dishes because it rewards a clear metric method: grams and millilitres, Australian cups (250 ml), and steps you can follow without scrolling past a novel. Serves 4 with about 20 mins prep and 20 mins cook time (around 40 mins total). That is a home estimate — ovens and pans vary, so use colour and texture as well as the clock. The character of the dish comes from pork fillet, cornflour and vegetable oil. Check quantities in grams where listed — volume is fine for many liquids, but baking and batter ratios behave better on scales. Use it for weeknight dinners when you still want something proper, then serve straight from the pan with a simple salad or mash. Feeds a small table as written; bump quantities if you are feeding a crew. Metric spoons here mean a 20 ml tablespoon and a 5 ml teaspoon. Method opens with: “Toss pork in cornflour. Heat oil and fry until golden and cooked; remove.”. Follow the order as written; jumping ahead is how pans crowd and sauces split.

Notes

Putting it together for Sweet and Sour Pork: work clean, taste as you go, and do not rush browning or reduction steps if they appear in the method. If you are cooking for mixed diets, plate sauces and toppings separately where practical. Keep this page bookmarked if it becomes a household regular — we update wording when cooks report a confusing step. Metric consistency across Scoops & Dishes means once you trust the cups and scales here, breakfast through dessert behaves the same way.
Shopping and mise en place: read the full ingredient list once before you start. For Sweet and Sour Pork, pork fillet and cornflour are the items that decide whether the dish tastes flat or properly seasoned. Weigh where grams are given — volume cups are fine for liquids and some dry goods, but baking ratios are tighter if you use scales. Australian cups are 250 ml; a tablespoon is 20 ml and a teaspoon is 5 ml.
Serving ideas without fluff: serve straight from the pan with a simple salad or mash. Keep accompaniments simple so the dish stays the hero — a green salad, steamed veg, rice, mash, or crusty bread depending on the style. Metric measures stay consistent across Scoops & Dishes, so once you trust the cups and scales here, the rest of the site cooks the same way.
Before the heat goes on, line up pork fillet, cornflour and vegetable oil and anything perishable from the list. Soften butter, bring eggs off the fridge if the method needs them room-temp, and preheat so you are not waiting mid-recipe. For a dinner cook of this size (4), a clear bench saves more time than any gadget.